


Emmerdale’s School for Gifted Youngsters

by Astoria



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - X-Men Fusion, Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, M/M, X-men Inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 07:55:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13231362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astoria/pseuds/Astoria
Summary: Mutants are real. Mutations can be dangerous, fun or grandiose. In any case they have to learn to control it.Robert and Aaron meet at Emmerdale’s School for Gifted Youngsters and they will try to deal with their feelings and their uncontrollable powers.





	1. Ashes to Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> tw: character's death, fire

Robert Sugden had always been a very perceptive and sharp boy. His teachers had learnt to read his insolent smile that usually meant he would ask trick questions relentlessly until the teachers got annoyed and screamed at him. He would only smile more. His classmates and friends knew not to provoke him because he would, for some obscure reason, know things about them they had never revealed to anyone before and he would taunt them with their deepest secrets. Robert thought himself exceptional. If he could trick his teachers, it was because he was smart and studied rigorously. If he knew things about the others, it was because he could read the others, their habits, their minuscule changes of expression, their feelings and their movements; he could read them like an open book.

At home, he tried to rein in this behaviour because it exasperated his family. His father was not patient with him anymore. Had never been actually. Robert had tried too hard to please him his whole life, and unknowingly his efforts had only pushed his father further away. He hadn’t given up, no he couldn’t, it was not in his personality. But sometimes, it was hard, hard to be able to know how people worked and were intrinsically and see that his father rejected him so clearly in favour of his other siblings. The perfect golden boy Andy and the sweet, saccharine Victoria. He was being unfair, he knew it, but he didn’t care. He had always felt like an outsider and especially in his family. So of course he built up this universe in his mind where he was exceptional and everybody else was a pawn in his games, easy to manipulate and have fun with.

He had never been like this with his mother though. His mother had never treated him differently. He was her son and she loved him the way he was, the good and bad sides. He tried to be better for her, he tried to tame his wild, passionate character, he tried to get along with his brother. But then, but then… That day happened and everything changed.

*

Robert had been a bastard, as always, but he was trying to redeem himself. Maybe he had met Andy’s girlfriend and maybe he had thought she was cute and maybe she thought he was cute too. But also maybe he had wanted to get revenge on Andy because at that time their father was spending all of his time with his adopted son, teaching him how to tend the family farm, clearly ready to pass the torch later. Not even a spare glance in the direction of his biological son, no, nothing, just a derisive ‘Robert doesn’t care about that.’ That was true, and maybe his father knew him well enough because he did not care about tractors and milking cows but damn it he cared about his father, he cared about the position he had in this family. That position was not the one he thought he had if he was not even expected to take over the Sugden farm.

So yes, maybe it all accumulated down to the fact that Katie had looked at him a bit longer than necessary and of course he had slept with her. Of course. Because at seventeen years old, that was still what he did best. After making everybody run away from him when he opened his mouth, he only knew how to use his body. He was tall, slender and had a killer smile. And it was easier to let his body do the talking when everything he managed to do was make people hate him with his words. When he had sex he stopped thinking, his mind was resting, he would only focus on physical sensations and that was a nice retrieve from his own thoughts. Maybe he overdid it sometimes. Like when he slept with Katie. Fuck. Now he had to suffer the consequences. Because he knew like he knew many things that Katie meant a lot to Andy. She was not like the other flings ha had had, she wasn’t a girlfriend, she was to be the future wife. Andy had never told him all of that directly, no that definitely was not their style, but Robert knew. And maybe he had wanted it to hurt that time. When he was feeling hurt nothing else mattered than hurt and he lashed out like an injured wild beast.

“Please Andy… I’m so sorry, I just…” Robert ran his hand through his hair and tugged a bit in frustration. It definitely was not going the way it was supposed to. Robert was not a complete moron, he knew Andy would be angry when he told him, but they had been doing that to each other for years and this felt different. “Listen, I…” He actually did not know how to finish this sentence.

Andy was positively fuming. He had never looked this angry, the energy of the room shifted entirely, full of tension and hate. “How could you?” He tightened his fists and Robert knew he was going to get hit and he was ready for it, he was ready for anything other than that cold stare. “Fuck you. You went too far. Why did you even do that? Why, Robert? Why?” He repeated again and again.

“I don’t… “ Robert could actually use his words well usually. But they failed him now. It was weird, he could not focus on the situation, everything was becoming more and more blurry around him. He felt hot all over, his shirt too tight and sweat was starting to pearl on his forehead.

“Because no one likes you! Not even your own father! So you have to go and destroy everything else because you are jealous and petty and everybody hates you, Robert!”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” He answered, his hands shaking wildly. He didn’t know why these words had such an effect on him. He knew that already, he knew that it was what his brother thought. He knew it but hearing it directly hurt so much, he actually felt like he had been punched. He could see spots in his eyes and he was sweating profusely. He was about to speak again, to apologize again when he saw smoke near Andy. “What…” He started but stopped completely when he saw the smoke was actually coming from Andy’s hands. He stared, absolutely flabbergasted, as the smoke was followed by actual flames. Andy’s whole arms were on fire! He acted on instinct and took off his jacket to put out the fire. But Andy only pushed him away and the fire was stronger than ever, spreading to his chest, to his legs. “Andy!” Robert cried out helplessly, watching his brother on fire.

Andy seemed to not realize what was going on, he still looked furious and he still looked like he wanted to punch Robert. Robert would have been happy to do that, to simply go back to a bit of normalcy. He briefly wondered if he was having a stroke or if he had consumed something that could make him hallucinate. He reached out to touch Andy but took a violent step back when his hand touched the fire. Why wasn’t Andy writhing on the floor in pain?

The action seemed to bring back Andy. He looked at his limbs and suddenly realized he was covered in fire. He stumbled around, as if drunk, and everything he touched caught on fire. Robert did not know why he hadn’t run away, why he was still here, looking stupidly. But he couldn’t: his brother was on fire and he was completely helpless.

“Andy!” A voice screamed in terror. They turned around and saw their mum, looking terrified, her kind eyes wide with horror. “Robert, go wake Victoria up!” She demanded while grabbing the phone to surely call the firefighters.

Robert moved, his feet moving so slowly he stumbled on the furniture, to Victoria’s room where she was sleeping soundly. He shook her shoulder. She woke up slowly and confusion marred her face. She must have seen something on his face because she immediately sat up. “What’s going on?” She demanded.

“I don’t know.” He answered truthfully.

He took her hand and they went out of the house. When they walked in front of the living room, they heard their parents screaming and smoke everywhere. Robert pushed Victoria so she would not stop. The night was cold and they huddled for warmth and comfort outside, waiting for something, anything at all. Finally they heard the fire engine’s sirens and dozens of men came out. Robert was stuck, his hold on his sister tightened and he could only look as they tried to control the fire.

It had been several minutes already, long minutes that seemed to last forever when a figure emerged from the house. Robert recognized his brother. He had no clothes on and he was unscathed. Not any trace of a burn on him, his skin wasn’t even pink. Victoria screamed his name and ran toward him. Robert was stuck, he could only stare as they all went to him. He refused the firefighters’ help and urged them to put out the fire because their parents were still inside.

_No, no, please, God, no!_

Suddenly a violent feeling crossed Robert from head to toe. So violent he nearly fell on his face, so violent he nearly threw up, so violent he nearly blacked out. He heard himself scream as if he was looking at himself from an outside perspective. He felt fire tearing at his skin, he felt smoke choking him up.

He felt his mum’s last thoughts for her children.

Robert fell to the floor and he convulsed violently, his head hitting the floor repeatedly and his eyes becoming white. The last thing he remembered was his mum praying for her children while she closed her eyes for the last time.

 


	2. Phantom flames

_No, no, please, God, no! Andy save yourself, go away! Run! God, no!_

Flames rose higher and higher and no one could breathe. The pain of the burns was almost as intense as the feeling of choking down on smoke. Sarah could not see anything, the smoke was black and thick and her eyes were watering. The physical pain was nothing, nothing at all, compared to the utter helplessness and guilt and grief at knowing the people you loved more than anything in the world were here with you, on the verge of dying. And death came suddenly, almost gently.

Sarah Sugden closed her eyes.

Robert opened his eyes.

His chest was heaving and he realized he was sweating when he sat up and he felt the cold air on his drenched back. That fucking nightmare. He would never forget it, he would never be the same. He took off his shirt and came out of his room. He saw someone was already in the kitchen and he hesitated. He really didn’t want to see or talk now, but he felt so thirsty and every time he had this nightmare his throat hurt like hell, choking up and burning up on phantom flames.

He came inside and steeled his face so that whoever it was they would leave him alone. But it was Professor Paddy and Robert knew they were going to talk.

“Hello Robert.”

“Hello Professor.” He answered, moving to the fridge. “Can’t sleep?” He stalled. He didn’t want to talk about _it_ again and again.

“I know what you’re doing.” Paddy said with a smile.

How easy it was to forget. Robert always caught himself. Not even his thoughts were safe anymore. “Yeah.” He sighed, grabbing a bottle of water.

“I also know you didn’t even try to see who was in the kitchen.”

“Yeah.” He repeated uselessly, drinking water to drown the taste of fire.

“Robert, you cannot always be afraid of your capabilities. You are here to control yourself but most of all to expand your talents. To be who you really are.”

“I know who I am.”

“Do you?”

“Stop it. You are a geneticist; don’t try to be a psychologist.”

He laughed a bit. It was weird to be around Professor Paddy. And in the eight months Robert had been at Emmerdale’s School for Gifted Youngsters, he still didn’t know how to read Paddy. Well, that was probably because he was a very powerful telepath and his mind was completely blocked. Especially to someone like Robert who was still inexperienced and who had trouble using his ‘talent’. God, he had always thought he was special... The reading of people had been him unconsciously reading people’s minds. Like that time he had known the teacher was in a bad mood and would try to trick his students with advanced questions and Robert had immediately raised his hand to answer everything even though he had never studied that chapter. Or that time when he had felt a friend had cheated on another friend and he had used that information for blackmail, even though he had no proof.

And that time when he felt his mother’s mind when she died.

“Robert.” Paddy exclaimed calmly. His tone suggested Robert had been in his thoughts too long. “Don’t get lost there. It becomes too dangerous.”

His calmness broke something in Robert, something he couldn’t name, but god he was so angry and tired. “Can’t I have any thought of my own? Why do I have to share my most private thoughts? Why the fuck do you think it’s okay to come swooping in people’s heads?”

Robert felt a vibration in his head and he knew Paddy was entering his mind. ‘ _Because I see you are in pain. I know you won’t talk to me or anyone. But it is also who I am. I was born like this. I can read people’s minds, I can move things with my mind, I can stop time, I can do many things with my mind. And so can you. You are like me, Robert. I haven’t met a telepath like me in years. You can be who you are here. I’m showing you that you can.’_ He said directly in Robert’s head. 

And because Robert was not one to decline a challenge he did the same. ‘ _Stay out of my head_ .’

Paddy only laughed his goofy laughter and shook his head. “Anyway, I was actually here because I wanted to talk to you.”

Robert was not used to people knowing what was going on in his head, he was used to being the one in control. “And you knew I was going to wake up…” He glanced at the mural clock. “at thirty-six past two in the morning? I thought it was Professor Thomas who saw the future?”

“Ah yes, Ashley. But you are also aware that he never divulges what he sees.”

“So do we know for sure he is a mutant and not a random bloke if he never talks about his visions?”

“You know what, I actually wondered about that… What if he has visions but does not remember them? Like dreams? Anyway he always blocks me.” Paddy rambled on and Robert never knew if he was joking or if he was serious. It was easy to forget the Professor had actually a PhD and was one of the strongest mutants alive. What with his always confused expression fixed on his face, his goofy attitude and his shiny egg head… “Hey! I heard that!”

“Well if you don’t want to hear it, stay out of my head.”

“I always go off topic! So I wanted to talk to you and whether you realize it or not I knew I was going to find you here at that time of night because you do it every night.”

“Not every night.” He said immediately, defending himself.

“Almost then.” And Robert could not say anything because he didn’t remember the last time he slept without his mother’s memories in his head. “It’s too early still but you’ll talk one day. You’ll talk about your mother-“

“Don’t.”

“Alright. But actually it’s not that far off, what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s about… your siblings.”

Robert’s head whipped around, his interest caught. “What about them?” He said shakily, not trusting his voice to be any louder.

“They wish to come here.”

He wanted to throw up. “For what?”

“You know what for.”

He shook his head, and his whole body shook too. “No, no. You cannot.”

“I can and I will. I cannot let them on their own. They are like you, they are like us.”

“He killed my mum!” Robert exploded and the bottle he had put down on the counter flew off into one of the walls. “He killed my mum and then it made it seem like I was the one who did it! I heard Victoria’s mind! I know she thinks it was also my fault.” Some of the cabinet’s doors shook with Robert. “ He killed my mum and I’m supposed to greet him? Greet him here? The only place I thought I could live after spending two fucking months in a coma because my mind was still stuck with my mum’s death? Big fat chance of that happening Paddy.”

Paddy had not moved a millimetre. “He couldn’t control himself. He didn’t even know he had this mutation in him. He wants to control his fire.”

“Well that’s too late!”

“It’s not. I cannot refuse to help him.”

“Of course you can.” Robert felt the anger leave him in an instant only to be replaced by a cutting, inconsolable grief. An emotion he was all too familiar with. “Please. You can say no. He’ll go elsewhere.”

Paddy looked sad, he knew how Robert felt, could feel it in his mind, down to his bones, to the very fibre of his being and yet he only shook his head, his glasses sliding down his nose. “Where would he even go? No, Robert, I cannot refuse.”

‘ _You made your choice then’._ He thought loudly before going back to his room. He didn’t sleep at all.


	3. A voyeur meets an invisible man

_No, no, please, God, no! Andy save yourself, go away! Run! God, no! What about Robert and Victoria? I can’—_

A big slap woke Robert up before his nightmare could. He heard Ross’ ridiculous loud laughter and then the tell-tale noise of him teleporting to safety and he hadn’t even opened his eyes. The absolute fucker. So of course, Robert telepathically cast an illusion of a huge hungry lion running after Ross and when he heard his yell and the following fall in the stairs, Robert could only smile. He tried to go back to sleep because mornings were an abomination but his door opened and he blearily opened one eye.

“Some people are trying to sleep. Stop your idiocy, thank you.” Debbie ‘Frost’ Dingle said from the doorway, her blonde hair in braids and her frown in place. Her skin could turn to diamonds but Robert suspected her heart was not exempt.

“You should try to control your stupid boyfriend then.” He replied, already turning away in his bed.

She spluttered and that was so unlike her, Robert turned again toward her. “He is not my boyfriend.”

Oh. Had he read her without realizing? “Shit. Sorry, my bad.” He said, obviously not sorry at all.

“Stop it Sugden.”

Robert laughed a bit. “Should probably tell Pete though. You know, your actual boyfriend? Ross’ brother? The guy who can throw spikes from his wrists? Careful there.”

“Screw you!” She huffed out and slammed his door. Whatever, he could finally sleep. He closed his eyes but then he felt a vibration around his temples and soon Paddy’s voice rang through his head _. ‘Training, Robert. Wake up.’_ Sod everything, they were out to get him today. 

He took ten minutes to wake up and stand up. Then another five minutes to rub the sleep away from his eyes. Mornings were not for him and you couldn’t really escape a personalised Paddy’s alarm clock. But he dressed up and went downstairs, to one of their training room. On his way there he received a middle finger from a bruised Ross but also two high fives from Finn and Laurel.

When he arrived in the dedicated room, all eyes turned on him and he only smirked in response. They knew him by now, if he wasn’t late there was something wrong with him. But his smile dropped as easily as it appeared when he saw his brother there, among the other students. He turned to Paddy, his mind talking instead of his mouth _. ‘No. You promised we would never be in the same room.’_

He answered the same way.  _‘I thought you’d be okay by now. It’s been five months they enrolled.’_

‘ _Oh? So my mum’s not dead anymore? He hasn’t killed her?’_

‘ _Be reasonable.’_

‘ _You’re being unfair.’_

‘ _Perhaps but so are you.’_

“Hum? Yes? Okay?” A boy Robert had never seen before spoke up. Apparently their telepathic conversation had been too long. Sometimes he thought about how they looked when they did that: two lads looking intensely at each other without ever opening their mouths. “Are we going start or what?” He seemed uncomfortable to have spoken out loud as he would not meet Robert’s or anyone’s eyes. His hands were stuck in the long sleeves of his hoodie and he was hunching on himself. Robert wondered if he had never seen him before was because he could become invisible: his whole body language and behaviour told him as much.

“Oh yes sorry! Today is all going to be about parrying and counterattacking! So let’s do pairs… Oh by the way I completely forgot! Aaron arrived yesterday, I expect you to welcome him.” Paddy motioned to the boy- well Aaron he supposed. So he couldn’t turn invisible, he was just new. Aaron seemed to hate all the new attention on him as he blushed and looked down.

Robert hated what he was going to do just a bit but… he was still going to do it. He had inspected the mind of every resident that lived here, he tried to do it to the teachers too but they were older, wiser and more experienced and could easily block him. So yes, he did it to everyone and he was being hypocritical because of how much grief he had given Paddy for doing the exact same thing. Well actually, not to everyone. He hadn’t even dared to think about doing it to Andy’s head. His nightmares were enough he didn’t need more. And Victoria… Vic had always been too open about her feelings, her emotions and her thoughts even to people who were not telepaths. He had heard things, things he didn’t necessarily want to hear. But in the end he just didn’t want to do it to his family, that was too painful.

He got ready, his eyes squinting slightly, focusing on Aaron, his mouth opening in concentration and he heard… static. His thoughts were a mess, mumbles and yells and a jumble of murmurs. What the hell. He tried again and again but he never could hear a coherent thought. Was that guy a complete idiot or what? Robert was getting frustrated and he didn’t care if he seemed too obvious as he brought one of his hands on his temple. He found it easier to connect if there was a physical contact, if not with the other person, than with himself. Still he only heard a few words here and there, not even a sentence. What the fuck though, he would have to ask Paddy what was up. He couldn’t control his telekinesis or telepathy entirely yet but that had never happened to him before, not when he tried so hard. He had been too obvious because Aaron looked at him and frowned deeply. He made a confused face and seemed to say ‘the fuck you doing mate?’ with his hands. Robert shook his head and pretended to have been looking behind Aaron the whole time. Talk about awkward.

But that was bound to happen in a school like Emmerdale’s. When Robert had moved in here a few months ago he had walked into someone, like literally into someone, and he would never forget that absolutely weird sensation of going through someone. And every time Carly would see him she would wink and warn him with a ‘Careful where you’re going!' Oh and yes he was living in a boarding school full of teenagers and Robert could read minds, often involuntarily. He had seen way too many porn fantasies he had never ever wished to know about. And there had been that remarkable time when he was part of one (he hadn’t been able to look at Nicola in the eyes for weeks.)

In the time he had made his little spectacle of nothing the others had teamed up already and Robert had to move out of the way to avoid balls of energy and other flying objects. It definitely was a change of scenery from normal school. The students weren’t going to fight villains or whatever, no, they were mostly trying to control their mutation to live normal lives. Then there were some others who wished to be part of the elite team, the one the government would call in dire situations. And to say no one knew mutants existed! Robert had always thought himself exceptional so when he woke up in his hospital bed to find Paddy smiling down at him to tell him about mutants and mutations and telekinesis and telepathy and a school made for people like Robert, because yes Robert you are one of those people, well he had accepted it pretty easily.

Also he had just wanted to move away from his home, away from his dead mother.

Robert looked around to see who was still free and felt a pang in his chest when he saw that Andy was waiting for him. Then he looked at Aaron who was not in a group yet and who did not seem to want to be. He went toward him but he simply moved away and the sting of rejection was harsher than he would have thought. What was with this Aaron? Robert didn’t care anyway.

‘ _Robert. Go with him, you don’t have a choice.’_

‘ _Thank you so much professor. Exactly what I needed.’_

‘ _Are you being sarcastic? I can’t always tell when it’s telepathically.’_

‘ _No, not at all professor. I am ecstatic.’_

‘ _Ok now you are being sarcastic.’_

Robert really wondered how this man could be one the most powerful mutants in the whole world, he really did. He walked slowly toward Andy, his eyes never leaving his shoes, his fists tightened, his nails almost breaking the skin of his palms. When they were face to face, they just stared at each other. Andy had gotten bigger, more muscles, more beard. He looked older than his age, he looked tired and sad, the twist of his eyebrows making him look miserable at all times. Robert tried to imagine what he looked like. Did he look this tired and this miserable? He thought he did but he had gotten used to it by now. Suddenly he felt a tingling sensation in his limbs, zigzagging in his whole body.

‘ _Victoria!’_ He yelled directly in her head. He saw her flinch and he didn’t feel sorry at all.

He knew what was coming and he couldn’t do anything to stop it and neither could Victoria now that it had been cast. He felt calmness surround him and even though he knew it was fake he sighed a bit in relief. God, to be able to control feelings and emotions, what Robert would do with that. First of all he would be able to sleep all night without waking up in horror. Then he would be able to stop getting into all these troubles he always got into because he was impulsive and his emotions were all over the place. But that was not true and he wanted to feel what he felt, especially when he would talk to his brother for the first time in months.

“Are you looking into my head?” Andy asked almost shyly.

“What would I look at? There’s nothing in there.” He couldn’t help but say. He was always like that and for a second he regretted it. But Andy just smiled and puffed out a surprised laugh.

“Listen Rob…”

“Let’s do the exercise.” He cut him off.

Andy sighed and looked even more tired. “Sure.” He indulged him.

Robert looked fascinated as Andy created balls of fire in his palms and moved them around his hands, his arms. “Now you can control it, huh?” He said bitterly, already wiping at his wet eyes.

Andy looked at him with such a broken expression that Robert cried earnestly now. “I try to live with myself every day. And it’s hard. And I don’t think I can do it, not always.” He croaked out, his voice weak.

Fuck he couldn’t do it, he just couldn’t. He hadn’t even thought of Andy living the same thing as him. “Me neither.”

“Then please Robert come back to us, come back! We are desperate and divided it’s even worse, we cannot survive like that.”

“Us?”

“The family.”

“Uh. Weird.”

“What? We love you Robert and I’m sorry about what I told you that day.” He ran a hand through his hair and on his face. “I’m sorry.” He repeated.

“I just said ‘weird’ because if I’m correct, Dad didn’t even visit me in hospital. Just left me to die there.”

“He had just lost his wife.”

“And I had just lost my mum!” He cried out, too loud because everyone looked in their direction and Robert was assaulted with dozens of thoughts.

“I don’t know what went through his head. I can barely explain what is going through mine. Rob, please.” He begged and Robert could not focus on him any more because he had everyone’s thoughts in his head and Victoria was trying to inject calmness and happiness in him and that was too much.

So he ran. He ran out of the room, ran in the stairs, ran until he couldn’t hear anyone but himself. There was a place he went to when he felt like this, when it was too much: the roof. He used telepathic energy to create some kind of stairs and he climbed them. He wasn’t very good at that, at creating fields of energy so his made-up stairs were creaky and dangerous and his legs were wobbly. Still he arrived and collapsed on the roof. There were some bees and some plants students took care of so Robert had to time his visits. Now though he thought he would be alone but he was not, of fucking course.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Could say the same about you.” Aaron replied, swirling a beer bottle in his hand.

How had he even arrived before Robert? Well, he couldn’t say he had been paying attention to the others when he had been in class. “You didn’t see the show I made?”

Aaron shrugged. “M’not really interested in other people’s misery. Got enough of that on my own.”

“Shit. Where’s your compassion, mate?” Robert laughed while grabbing Aaron’s bottle. Aaron jolted a bit backward but finally tsked gently and let it go, even hiding a smile in his shoulder. They sat in silence, drinking from the same bottle and watching the view from up there. Robert didn’t even try to read Aaron’s thoughts and at that point it seemed rude. “So what’s your deal?” He asked, breaking the silence. Robert was not comfortable with silence even though that’s all he craved when he was bombarded by everything all the time directly broadcast in his head. But that was also why he could not stand it when it was quiet, he was used to it now.

“My deal?”

“Yeah, what are you here for?”

“Sounds like something you ask in prison.”

Robert snorted. “True. Well my crime is to be a complete peeping Tom. The worst voyeur you could ever meet.”

Aaron was looking at him like Robert was a curious beast, stuck between confusion and laughter. “What even does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said. I can see through you!” Robert exclaimed while doing dramatic jazz hands.

Aaron blushed wildly and Robert was fascinated by the way the redness shone through his scruffy stubble. A dark stubble not yet forming a beard but it held the promise of one. He was a bit jealous because Aaron seemed younger and yet he could grow facial hair while Robert and his blond hair suffered from a permanent case of 'here look! I've been growing my moustache for three months', 'where', 'there!', 'no'. Suddenly he just wanted to reach out and touch the warm skin. He was distracted enough by his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Aaron moving immediately.

“I cannot see through your clothes!” Robert said, laughing uncontrollably, clutching his stomach while Aaron was trying to hide himself with his hands.

“Are you taking the piss? You just told me you’re a voyeur!” He answered indignantly.

“I meant a metaphorical voyeur. I can read thoughts, I am a telepath.” Robert saw Aaron’s whole behaviour change in mere seconds. He tensed up, hunched in on himself and hid his hands in his sleeves. Robert thought it was cute but it probably was a protection mechanism so he tried not to dwell on it. “I haven’t read yours.” He added hastily and saw Aaron relax a bit.

“Why?” He asked in a small voice, now almost scared to look in Robert's direction. He sounded distrustful.

Robert shrugged. He didn’t want to admit that he could not because he was not good enough but also because Aaron’s thoughts were hectic and he didn’t want to put him on the spot or embarrass him. “I can talk to you if I want to know you, can’t I?” Aaron smiled a tiny, beautiful smile that showed his teeth and Robert smiled too. He probably looked a bit stupid but he didn’t care. “So wait I think I got it. You can fly!”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, you were on that roof before me.”

“I actually left while you were still in class. As for the accessing the roof part, huh, are you aware that stairs exist?”

Robert had never felt as dumb as he did in that moment. “Oh.”

“ 'Oh?' Are you for real? Have you completely forgotten about normal human stuff? Oh my god.”

“It's just…” He stopped and looked at the horizon. The school was isolated and he was pretty sure there were protective barriers around it so they had no direct neighbours, just trees and unending fields of deep green. Then he looked at Aaron who was already looking at him, his eyes focused on his mouth, hanging on his every word. “I suppose I've been trying to embrace that new life. Forget everything that happened before. I'm a mutant, aren't I? Might as well be completely and totally, without limits.”

Aaron nodded a few times but his mouth was turned downwards, in a miserable twist. “Yeah.”

He didn't offer more and Robert did not insist because he did not want to see Aaron sad. Because he seemed like a nice guy and maybe they could be friends. But also selfishly because he needed to forget his own sadness. “So what about those beers?”

“I know Paddy.”

“We all know Paddy, doesn't mean he allows a bunch of teens to drink alcohol.”

“I know him more personally.”

Robert looked at him for a moment, his jaw dropping slowly. “Oh my god.”

Aaron threw one look in his direction and saw his expression. “Not like that!” His face was contorted like the face of someone who had bitten a lemon. “Fuck. Just, no.” He shook his head as if to get rid of that image. “He just helped me.”

“Helped you with what?” Robert was curious so sue him. He wondered how that grumpy boy and the goofy man were friendly.

“Helped me through some stuff, you know.” He said as vaguely as possible and Robert understood when his curiosity was not welcome. He was tempted to try and read Aaron's mind but gave up on the idea almost immediately. Aaron deserved to tell his story the way he wanted to, not to be spied on. “I mean, it's not easy for everyone to come to terms with being a mutant.” He was playing with his too big sleeves, pulling on them and hiding his hands even further.

“I understand.”

At that Aaron raised his head and gave Robert a kind, sincere smile that stopped Robert’s train of thought so he just smiled too.

They drank the bottles they had and just lay down on the roof only breaking the tranquil silence to chat and laugh for most of the afternoon, not even trying to pretend they would go back to class, or that they didn't want to hang out together. It was so peaceful to not actively try to block someone's else thoughts. Aaron was just silent and it was so refreshing, Robert napped for a bit and woke up to see Aaron's head close to his, sleeping too. His mouth was open and Robert could hear his soft sighs in and out. When he was sleeping, Aaron looked relaxed and younger still than his seventeen years. For some stupid reason, his hand moved and he almost touched his cheek like he had wanted to do earlier but he stopped himself at the last moment. That was just a weird thing to do, wasn't it?

To dissipate any residual awkwardness he felt, Robert woke Aaron up. He proposed a competition to the one who would throw the empty beer bottles the farther away. Robert won, of course he did, he telekinesically threw the bottles so far away they could not see them any more. Aaron called him a cheater for the rest of the day.


End file.
